The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-01-26

garded as republicans, and when they
believe, or affect to believe, that the
President is fulfilling his reform pledges
they may properly be designated as
"spoOnies"
THE Free Press has printed the full
text of the letter written in July, 1864,
by General William f. Smith to the
late Senator Foot, small portion of
which was published in the September
number of the Century magazine. In
his letter General Smith charges Gen
eral u. S. Grant with intoxication and
the surreptitious procuring of liquor.
Smith intimates that Grant relieved
him of the command of the eighteenth
corps to please General Butler and from
fear that Butler would expose his in
toXicaton. Now that Grant is dead,
what good purpose can be gained by
reviving the scandals of the war period?
THE sold Grow" imbibed by Sena-
tor Thurman at the Jackson dinner in
Columbus, Ohio, on the Sth instant,
seems to have been as heavily loaded
as the pulque with which the gay and
lCollNO hCAlIdHS ply lllt
tives of the reform administration in
the halls of the Montezumas. 1t didn't
create quite so much scandal, however,
in the old Romans case, for his friends
let him down at the expense of alarm
ing the country, and thus creating
sympathy for the waver of the red BAN
danna, and so averted suspicion from
the quality of the fluid used at the Jack
son banquet by Buckeye democratic
statesmen.-COncord Monitor.
BUT it is the principle of interstate
regulation that the people demand, not
any particular device for asserting it.
They leave that to the wisdom of their
representatives and very few of them
understand the intricacies of railroad
business. A blacksmith might as well
put his thumb into watch as for the
average member of congress TO lay
down laws, except of the most general
character, for the operation of great
lines of transit. Fairness, openness
and steadiness are all that they should
aim to secure, and they should leave
the details to a competent board with
flexible powers. They have under
taken to do more, and we greatly fear
that they have thus endangered the
success of the whole scheme of federal
supervision and subjected the commerce
of the country to great temporary con-
fusion and embarrassment. Indeed we
feel confident that if these dire evils do
not result, it will be because the law
will not be eXecuted.-Herdld.
IT was handsome and well merited
compliment which the Dairymen's AS
ISOLATION at its late meeting paid to re-
firing secretary and present president,
Mr.. O. M. Tinkham. When Mr..
Tinkham was superintendent of the
dairy department at the New Orleans
Worlds Exposition there was, by new
ruling of the management, large
amounts of Vermont butter left on
hand not eligible to entry in any one
of the individual classes. These he
massed together and entered by him
association, for a premium in the class
of =" best exhibit by any board of trade
or dairy association" and it was
awarded the second prize of 5000.
After about year and half the eX-
position paid fifty cents on the dollar,
yielding 500 which was turned into
the treasury of the association. The
auditor reported the facts to the meet
ing, and it was voted unanimously to
return the amount to Mr.. Tinkham as
recognition of his gratuitous labors
for the association. The act reflects
credit alike on Mr.. Tinkham and on
the association.